Plan afoot to cope with smog, pollution

The Rawalpindi district administration has prepared a strategy to deal with the negative effects of smog this year. As part of the plan, the Punjab government has been requested to provide a mobile station to monitor air pollution. District administration officials said that like in previous years, there is a risk that the garrison city will be under attack of severe smog this year as well. The district administration has decided to form special anti-smog squads to monitor smoke-emitting brick kilns, factories and vehicles across the district. The anti-smog squads will also monitor the proper disposal of waste from hospitals and a complete ban will be imposed on the burning of plastic waste of any kind throughout the district. Officials said that the Punjab government has decided to establish special labs across the province to protect citizens from the dangers of smog. The district administration has requested the Punjab government to provide a mobile testing lab/station, which will be installed in the office of the commissioner to monitor the presence of pollutants/smog in the atmosphere and its effects on human health. According to the district administration officials, an awareness campaign will be started across the district from next week apprising the citizens about the negative effects of smog and the role they could play to mitigate it. The anti-smog squads will be empowered to impose heavy fines on violators. They said that the Punjab government has decided to impose section 144 across the province to ban the burning of crop residues and garbage and anti-smog squads will be formed to crack down on industries and vehicles causing air pollution. Separate counters will be set up in all three allied hospitals in Rawalpindi for checking of patients suffering from smog and pollution as it harms the health of citizens and can lead to serious lung, heart and brain-related illnesses. The Regional Transport Authority will work with the city traffic police and motorway police to take action against smoke-emitting vehicles. Officials said that efforts were being made to make the awareness campaign effective so that citizens themselves play a role in mitigating the effects of smog.   Published in The Express Tribune, September 27th, 2022.

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